They might look a little like the Elton John of the insect world, but these spectacle wearing praying mantises are part of an experiment into 3D vision.

British scientists have made the world’s smallest pair of 3D glasses for the carnivorous insects to wear.

They measure just five millimetres wide, are made from the same material as the pairs worn at the cinema and are attached with beeswax to the insects, which appear to be quite happy with their new accessory.

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Specs appeal: British scientists have made the world's smallest pair of 3D glasses (pictured) for praying mantises to wear

THE PRAYING MANTIS

There are over 2,400 species of mantises in 15 families, which live in temperate and tropical habitats around the world.

Their closest relatives are termites and cockroaches.

Mantises may have a visual range of up to 20 metres. Their compound eyes may comprise up to 10,000 ommatidia - clusters of photoreceptor cells.

The eyes are widely spaced, affording a wide binocular field of vision and at close range, precise stereoscopic vision.

The dark spot on each eye is a pseudopupil. As their hunting relies heavily on vision, mantises are primarily active during the day.

Mantises have two grasping, spiked forelegs or raptorial legs in which prey items are caught and held securely.

Most mantises are exclusively predatory. They eat small insects or their siblings when young and when they grow larger, have been known to prey on small scorpions, lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, fish, and even rodents.

Scientists from Newcastle University created the miniature glasses to investigate the 3D vision of the praying mantis, which is the only insect known to see in three dimensions, instead of 2D.

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In an experiment, the creatures will watch a film - similar to 3D films seen at the cinema - only they will be shown a movie of computer-generated flies within their strike distance on 3D-enabled computer monitors.

If the insect accurately pounces it will prove that despite its simple nervous system, it can process the images in the same way as humans, the scientists said.

The experiment will determine if mantids can see the moving object
standing out in depth in a similar way to humans and monkeys.

It is hoped the £1million research
programme could give insight into 3D vision which could provide cheaper
and less technical versions of the technology.

Here's looking at you: Scientists from Newcastle University created the tiny glasses to investigate the 3D vision of the praying mantis, which is the only insect known to see in three dimensions, instead of 2D

Dr Vivek Nityananda, who is involved in the experiment at Newcastle University said: ‘This is a really exciting project to be working on. So much is still waiting to be discovered in this system.

‘If we find that the way mantises process 3D vision is very different to the way humans do it, then that could open up all kinds of possibilities to create much simpler algorithms for programming 3D vision into robots.

‘We can do this by fooling them into misjudging depth, in the same way that our brains are fooled when we watch a 3D movie.’

Making a spectacle of themselves: The praying mantises are wearing the glasses (pictured left and right) so that scientists can understand how relatively simple insects can see in 3D

Analysing how mantises see in three dimensions could give clues about how 3D vision evolved.

It is possible that 3D vision in mantises is closer to that of vertebrates, where disparities between the positions of an object’s image in the two eyes can be detected and used to reveal the object’s position, even when the object is camouflaged and is invisible in either eye individually.

If this is the case, it would mean that mantises have independently evolved similar 3D processing to vertebrates.

Dr Jenny Read from the Institute of Neuroscience, who is leading the project, said: ‘Despite their minute brains, mantises are sophisticated visual hunters which can capture prey with terrifying efficiency.

Basic Instinct: In an experiment, the creatures will watch a film, similar to 3D films seen at the cinema, only the insects will be shown a movie of flies within their strike distance

‘We can learn a lot by studying how they perceive the world.’

It is the first major research project investigating mantises since 1983 when Samuel Rossel discovered they have 3D vision.

Dr Rossel placed prisms over their eyes and creating an optical illusion that an object was within their range, triggering a strike from the mantises.

Good Will Hunting: If the insect (pictured) accurately pounces when watching the 3D film with its glasses on, it will prove that despite its simple nervous system, it can process the images in the same way as humans, the scientists said

Three dimensional: It is the first major research project investigating mantises since 1983 when Samuel Rossel discovered they have 3D vision